Social interactions like Twitter mentions and retweets, Facebook shares, comments, and likes, etc. are called social signals.
With the increase in importance of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Google and Bing have started taking into account a range of social signals to help determine website ranking.
Note: Google encourages website owners to build their brand on social media as a long-term investment to drive qualified traffic, instead of aiming for short-term benefits like search ranking placement. Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s web spam team has stated that Google takes a cautious approach when it comes to social media, as so many things change quickly on social media. Without a reliable ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more importance to the social sphere over other aspects of their search algorithm. In summary, Google’s strategy is to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide real value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google naturally wants to rank higher in its search engine listings.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google look to for measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the most influential social media network on the planet. Research shows that one great post on Facebook can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if no one seems to be buying your products or services on Facebook, don’t be quick to dismiss the importance of Facebook in your business strategy, as Google processes social data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, research shows that Facebook seems to have the most influence on website rankings of all social media sites, like Twitter andGoogle+.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second largest social media site in the world, with over 600 million tweets sent out every single day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence online and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide value to followers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social networking site, Google+ naturally carries great authority online, even if it is still a fledgling online community compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are starting to interact socially on Google+ each day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three listed above, there are a number of other social media networks that provide important social signals, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, Digg, and StumbleUpon.
(A number of social sites provide important signals that could affect your search rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Google and Bing include:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, likes, and shares a person has, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets a web page has, how influential the person sending a tweet is, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many people are following you, spread rate of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Digg, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can indirectly influence search engine traffic and rankings. These include positive and negative factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by site reviewers [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to find ways to grow your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track and analyze social media in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can improve your business results)
Social media monitoring allows you to gain insights into what people are saying about your services, company, or brand on social media, measure the impact of campaigns, spot opportunities for engagement, spy on your competitors, and be alerted to impending crises. Additionally, monitoring social media can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific topics, products, businesses, or brands.
As a business intelligence tool, social signal monitoring is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, typically carried out by a cross-section of groups that include online reputation management (ORM) specialists, market researchers, marketing teams, social engagement and community staff, professional sales reps, and social marketing agencies. Typically, smaller businesses do not can’t afford to pay a social media monitoring service to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately many providers have made available many tools to facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, allowing you to identify what consumers, competitors, supporters, and critics are saying about your brand or products so you can respond to conversations and engage with consumers in various social media platforms.
We have written a detailed article listing several social media tracking tools and technologies that you may want to check out. More info:
(Do you know how to effectively monitor social signals?)
This article discusses a simple, yet highly effective plugin for WordPress users for tracking social media signals and increasing your social media presence.
Introducing …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics WordPress Plugin
Plugin Description
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social media analytics plugin that is designed to help users grow their social media influence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – the plugin measures how each signal is performing and displays either a green or red indicator. The user’s job is simple … turn all the reds into greens.
(Social Metrics Pro provides a system that any website owner can operate … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts that receive the most shares show up green. Posts with low social media activity display amber or red.
The plugin developers tested Social Metrics Pro on a network of 2,000+ websites over a period of three months. During this period, all they focused on was turning the “reds” to “greens” and then keeping their metrics on “green”. From these tests, they noticed that their top 10 best performing sites saw an improvement of up to 360% more traffic, 410% more keywords ranked in the first page of Google and their revenue increased by 310%.
(According to the plugin developers, improving your social marketing campaigns can positively can have a dramatic effect on your search rankings, web traffic and revenue!)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Social Metrics Pro to track Likes, Tweets, +1s, Pins and more right from your WP Dashboard on your site:
Quick Installation
Social Metrics Pro is quite easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, your objective is to change reds into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social signals so you know where to apply more effort and where to optimize.
Track Only Social Signals You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you track and monitor social media activity from social networks like Twitter, Facebook, GooglePlus, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, and Digg directly from your WordPress admin area.
SocialMetricsPro helps you get answers to questions like:
- Which social media networks work best for my site?
- Which social campaigns are performing the best on these social networks?
- Which of my posts are the most popular?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all of this information is available on-demand, with a single click.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly tracks the sites that you care most about!)
Product Features
Social Metrics Pro provides WP users with many unique features. Below we have listed some:
- Quick and easy to install and set up. Ready to start using in minutes.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality using external and built-in widgets. View updated stats from your WP admin bar, add social content to your sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- One-click upgrading. You can update the plugin with one click via the WordPress Updates page, or update the manually manually. You can also choose to be notified via email whenever new versions are released.
- Minimal server resources use. The plugin generates reports very quickly, using little hosting resources. Reports also display the amount of time used to retrieve information and the server memory used to gather the data.
Additional features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort and filter the information as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by publishing date, post type, post authors, or by category.
- Export Data: You can export filtered, sorted data and custom queries to Excel for further analysis. Data can be exported in tab-delimited and comma-separated file formats, and imported to the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(SocialMetricsPro is really simple to use … just change more red squares into greens!)
Feedback From Users
Here are some of the testimonials and comments customers have submitted for SocialMetricsPro:
“Social Metrics Pro is the essential plugin we use to monitor how our content performs on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It’s simple, neat and works precisely as you would expect it. When we work with our clients such as T-Mobile, the .Me domain name registry and others, Social Metrics Pro is the plugin we use to create reports as well as keep track on each bit of content to optimize it for future performance.” Ivan Brezak Brkan, Editor of Netokracija.com, TechCrunch EU Contributor
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”I give Social Metrics a big thumbs up and I recommend it to anyone who’s serious about tracking their social sharing analytics.” James Johnson, Senior Editor at The Inquisitr
SocialMetricsPro Plugin – Tips
A practical, step-by-step guide showing you how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
Social Metrics Pro Plugin Support
The software is well-supported, and comes with free support and free lifetime updates, backed by a risk-free, sixty-day, 100% money-back guarantee.
Product Pricing
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Edition – This option enables you to run SocialMetricsPro on a single web site. Price includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites Edition – This license enables you to use SocialMetricsPro on unlimited domains that you own. Includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Pricing for SocialMetricsPro can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the product is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the plugin author when you visit the product site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
We Highly Recommend This
As mentioned earlier, social signals impact search engine rankings and Google has been elevating the importance given to social signals as part of its ranking algorithm.
No website owner can afford to ignore the importance of social media. SocialMetricsPro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives website owners instant feedback on the success of their social marketing strategy and shows them how and where to direct their efforts in order to improve their results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WordPress dashboard.
We recommend Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to measure your social media marketing results professionally.
For more information, visit the plugin website here: Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics For WordPress
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